One's Destiny
When I was born my parents’ house rocked with the thunder, lightning blazed outside the windows, the sea below the cliff smashed against it, hoping to crumble it, destroy it. Two foals died out in the paddock, sheep went missing – the storm spooked them, several trees fell down and two new lycanthropes were made. How do I know these things? Well my parents may have told me, but they didn’t and that's the point, I know, I remember. Besides how would my parents know about the lycanthropes? But that's not all, my birthday was an important day, the most important day since us peasants got more rights; the king was murdered. Yes, the king was murdered, as my father held me for the first and called out my name a dagger plunged in King Abner’s heart. His younger brother took his place as king, his evil younger brother. If you’ve ever known someone evil then times that by at least thirteen hundred and you will understand how evil King Donovan is.
It’s my job to stop this, to stop people dying on the streets of simple grazes turning nasty. My job to get back the rights of everyone from the lowest peasant to the highest Duke, my job to see that people have food to eat, my job to see that Prince Wayra – whom was four when his oldest brother died - gets on the throne, my job to be as discreet as possible so I will not be killed for the king’s murder, my job to restore peace. And I’m nineteen.
Yes, I was the only magical baby born on that day but that doesn’t mean I should be the one to do this, the Society had tonnes of mages to choose from. I don't know who I am, let alone who the man I should put on the throne, or if he is ready to be on the throne. I knew him once, but that was at least a year ago, before he knew that I was there because of my job not because I wanted to. I did want to, just not at first. Admittedly he is older than I, but most of the time not more mature.
He turns and looks at me as if he can tell I am thinking about him.
“I know you are thinking about me.†There you go, he can tell.
“Well that got rid of my worries.†It only got rid of one of them, but if he doesn’t know, that's better.
"You’re not quite telling the truth.†And he can tell when I lie, I forgot about that.
“Neither are you.†He looks away so I cannot see him blush.
“Larissa was nothing, a fling.†He murmurs, still looking away, not that does him any good, I can feel the shame, the heat radiating off his cheeks.
“If you hate me so much why do you confess to me the women that enter your chambers? I forfeited the right to know when I left a year ago, when you found out my true reasoning.â€
He doesn’t have an answer for that, only another blush.
“I don't even know who Larissa is.†I say plainly, not meaning to tease him. He turns around,
“Don't you have my brother to kill?!â€
~~~~
“King! King! King!†the people are screaming, some are bloody, some dead, all the soldiers gone long ago, my fellow mages saw to that. They love him, the people love him, he hasn’t done anything but they love him, they don't care how good he is or not, he has to be better than King Donovan was.
Lip bleeding I take the newly dented crown out to him, it has blood on it, but we’ve just had a revolt, an assassination, everything goddamned thing in this whole castle has blood on it.
He kneels before me and the crowd goes silent. Using my working arm I place it upon his head.
“Rise King Wayra†I say before the cheering of the crowds drowns out my voice. Wayra rises.
“Nephele! Your arm, your shoulder.†He manages over the crowd’s screaming; I glance down at it, hanging limply at my side. “It’s dislocated.â€
“I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine. Easy to fix.†I say, and I will be, simple mage work will fix it, not that I’ll get any, there isn’t much point. I don't mention that the hole in my stomach will be the fatal thing.
“And the blood?â€
“Donovan’s.†Wayra looks at me as if he thinks I’m lying, please, believe me.
“I’ll see you later, right? Later, when I’ve finished fixing this mess, when I finished telling people to clean up the blood.†He jokes, I smile at him, he really doesn’t know.
“Sure.†I say simply, trying to believe my lie, making it simple on purpose.
Forgetting we are covered in blood, forgetting that millions of hyped people surround us, and forgetting that this is the least private place in the world he kisses me, hard, making my lip bleed even more. This is the last time I’ll see him, the last time I’ll see anyone, so I enjoy the moment, more so than I have ever before. I wrap my good arm around him and he both around me. When he breaks away, panting, he whispers in my ear;
“I love you Nephele, you know I do.†He doesn’t notice the blood, or how weak I’ve become. His eyes are only fixed on me but he’s not seeing the fatal damage.
“I love you too. Go.†It’s the first thing I’ve ever said anything to him that is the full on truth. “Please don't be like your brother.â€
~~~~
Excerpt from The Booke of Wayra, Introduction;
The Great King Wayra was the best king that Quentonia ever had. His reign started after his older brother, Donovan, was assassinated by a mage only known as Nephele. Not much is known about the dark haired mage, no one knows of her origins, although her family was found they knew nothing about her, but it is known that she was a part of the Mage’s Society to Help Bring Down Donovan. Nephele worked in the castle, getting closer to Wayra. She acted as his lover and informed him of the assassination before it happened. Before Wayra knew of who she was he had fallen in love with her, but the mage could belong to no one, she disappeared from the castle for about a year and a month before returning three months before the assassination. As Wayra knew she was here because it was her job their relationship was frosty and the plan almost didn’t work. During the assassination Nephele took a dagger to the stomach in which she bled out in the next hour. Her last words were to the newly crowned King Wayra, telling him she did indeed love him. She died in his chambers without him knowing until she was dead.
King Wayra became a distant man, not to his people which he treated fairly and justly, but to love or women interested in becoming the Queen. In the end his mother arranged a marriage to a Duchess in a neighbouring country, they got on well but the Duchess turned Queen described King Wayra as “Sweet but his head is in his work. Sometimes I think he loves his people more than me or our children, yes, bring up the word love and comes up with one too, Nephele.†He had three heirs; he loved them as much as any father but his heart still held a flame for the dark haired mage.
When Wayra’s youngest child turned six he had news from a mage. This mage’s name was never learnt but he was in the same Society as Nephele. Wayra was lead to a farm near the sea where he met Nephele’s family. Not only did her parents and siblings greet him but a pair of twins, the reason Nephele had left her place by his side to do her job. Not only had Nephele been assigned to protect Wayra and gain his trust but also to produce an heir in case something happened. The children had not been old enough to remember what their mother looked like, they were seven months old when Donovan was killed, but they knew how much she had loved her father.
Verdis and Rain moved to the castle with their father, Verdis becoming the true heir to the throne. King Wayra became a happier man but he thought of his people first, in his later years he forgot to look after himself, totally dedicating himself to his work and forgetting about simple pleasures, like eating. He wasted away on the fifteen of Dark Sun, 1294, leaving his people the happiest in history. This Booke, in detail will tell the story of King Wayra and most of his accomplishments, staring with his very first decree.